Race Recap: Las Vegas Santa Suit 5K

December 6, 2011

I would like to call this race my attempt at peer pressure:

Oh heeeeeeeey, Aron. So, I found this 5K in Vegas the day before the half. It could be a great shakeout run, it’s $35, you get a long sleeve cotton tee, a cinch bag, snacks, oh and um, a full five-piece Santa suit as they are trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people running in a Santa Suit. Oh, and if you don’t come, we can’t be friends.

It worked.

Saturday morning Aron and I made the wise decision of running to the start of the race from our hotel. What we thought would be three miles, turned into four miles in the wind and cold, arriving at the race start with little time to spare.

We grabbed our packets and started suiting up (no pun intended…well, sort of). If you happen to do this race next year and the suit provided to you has a giant hole in the front “crotchal” region, feel free to ask them to replace it. I am talking from experience here, people.

Pants? Check.

Jacket? Check

Belt? Check.

Hat? Check.

Beard? Double check.

We were looking goooooooooood.

We signed our life away to the Guinness Book of World Records, watched Santa parachute in from a helicopter above (is it not obvious that we are in Vegas?) and found our way into the sea of Santas.

If you are curious about our pacing, fueling strategy or any other “real” running details, you won’t find it in this race recap because any attempt at actual running was a joke. I ran with the cinch backpack on, the belt wouldn’t stay tight, I stopped to tie my shoes, the pants were practically hammer pants and I got enough beard hairballs that I’d put Aron’s cats to shame.

We pretty much trotted along for what was actually 2.9 miles and just enjoyed seeing thousands of Santas and their festive pets make their way along the course.

However, as chaotic as it was, it was still a pretty cool experience. Should you take part in next year’s Las Vegas Santa Suit run? Definitely! I mean, what’s better than running with a fake beard?